Getting Ready for First BP Competition

[crusher777777]

Like the title says, I'm going to be competing in my first bench press competition on June 15. I'm 19 years old, 5'8", 165 lbs. Back in the summer I was benching 270, but I had tendonitis in my elbow for a while and it's down to about 240 now. Hopefully it will come back quickly. I'm going to try out Metal Militia's Raw Routine for a few weeks, and if it works I'll stick with it. I'll be doing the bench routine on Friday with some light assistance work on Monday and a lower volume lower body workout, probably on Wednesday. I want to do enough to at least try to maintain my squat and deadlift, but I don't want to hinder my recovery for benching. Here's my first assistance workout I finished today.

3/9/2009 - Bench Assistance
DB Rows:
60's x 10
70's x 8
85's x 6
100's x 4

Wide-Grip Pulldowns:
160 x 10
175 x 8
190 x 4

Bent-Over Lateral Raises:
20's x 8
20's x 8
20's x 8
15's x 12

Barbell Curls:
80 x 7
75 x 7
65 x 8
45 x 12

[adelman337]

I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Dobermann]

Originally Posted by adelman337

I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

x2 good luck!

[crusher777777]

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to keep you updated.

[strength and power]

I posted this in your other thread as well

A few things I have learned from doing this routine several times.

The first 2-3 weeks will be rough as it is a ton of volume.
Learn to hold your air for all the reps in the set, this will keep you tighter, usually takes about 2 -3 weeks to get this down
Focus on your set-up every set, practice makes perfect, really dig your traps into the bench, focus on squeezing your scapulas together, let the bar settle before starting your reps.
Ive chosen my weights going for 5 reps and also for 3, the 5's seem to work better for me
I would start my working sets like this

Comp grip
255 x 5
265 x 5
275 x 5
etc. jumping 10# every set
On the next round, close grip w/pause, I'd start with my 255 and climb again. If I stalled at a weight, I'd finish my sets at that weight as long as I was getting 3-5 reps. If your not getting 3 reps, drop the weight, reps are more important.
Comp grip w/ pause- same thing with the weights. If I was feeling tired, I'd drop the weight and again, focus on the reps.

Assistance wise- the Db rows are good, i like to do them Kroc style, shoot for 3 sets of 20 reps, the 100's x 4 won't do much good, it is assistance, not max effort. once you hit 3 sets of 20, go to the next size dumbells and work up to the 3x 20 again.

Higher rep work on the shoulders as well, your shoulders will get plenty of work on the benching alone. The higher reps will help pump some blood in and help with soreness

You will have a pump like never before if you hit all 18sets of 5 reps. that 90 total reps and if you take the time to add up the total volume in the work sets alone, yo will be surprised. I want to say I was over 20,000#'s of weight moved in the work sets alone the last time I did this.

They recommend running the program for 3 months, Unless you are heavily "supplemented" or have amazing recovery, and don't squat or pull, you will not make it 3 months. I have ran it for a 5 week stretch initially and made a 20# PR, and also for 3 and 4 weeks and have PR'd every time. I'd say looking at how far away your meet is, do 3 week waves with a week deload on the 4th. On your 3 weeks, do just enough lower body to maintain, push the lower body on the 4th week, doing only Db rep work on this week. On your second Deload, you could take a number on your bench to check progress, keep your warm-up weights/reps low, do just enough to get warm something like this
bar x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 1
225 x 1
255 x 1
? x 1 if you are feeling good. Once you hit a new max, which you should if you follow the program, shut it down and use what you learned to map out the next cycle. If you felt like you could hit the 225 for 5, make sure you are planning to hit that early in the next wave. Other people who have ran this with me have seem good gains as well. Good luck

[crusher777777]

Thanks for the advice, you answered all of my questions and some that I haven't thought of yet.

[crusher777777]

I'm thinking about something like this for my lower day. This might be terrible, I don't know.

Leg Press
Pull-throughs
Standing Calf Raises
Standing Cable Crunches

The reason I didn't include squats or deads is to allow my body to recover as quickly as possible for bench. I'll do heavy squats and deads during my deloads. I'm not sure about the rep range for my lower body workout. Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated. And if this lower routine is complete garbage feel free to say so, lol.

[crusher777777]

Alright, here's the rep range I'm thinking about using for my lower day.

Leg Press - 2x10
Pull-throughs - 3x10
Standing Calf Raises - 3x15
Standing Cable Crunches - 3x10

I figured this would be low enough volume to allow me to recover for benching quickly, but still enough to maintain my lower body strength as much as possible. Any input is appreciated.

[crusher777777]

Leg Press: (sled weight not included)
360 x 10
360 x 10

Pull-throughs:
130 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 10

Smith-Machine Calf Raises:
225 x 15
225 x 15
225 x 15

Standing Cable Crunches:
70 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 10

Today was the first time I've ever done pull-throughs or standing cable crunches. That's why the weights are so low on them. Hopefully they'll start to increase as get more used to the movements. I can't wait for my first Metal Militia bench session on Friday.

[adelman337]

I have no idea what the program calls for as far as legs go, but you could maybe just do some DE squats that way you can still work on your form.